Human Reproduction
Reproductive Systems
Although structurally and functionally very different, the
male and female reproductive systems have some
things in common. Both sexes have:
• a pair of gamete-producing organs, the gonads
(ovaries or testes).
• a system of ducts which connects the gonads to other
parts of the body and the outside world.
• structures of copulation (the act of mating, when
sperm from the male are transferred to the female). As
with other terrestrial mammals, the copulating
structures and ducts have evolved to bring the
gametes together without them having to pass
through the air over the land.
Male reproductive system
Testes
• In the male, the testes (two spherical
structures) produce sperm by
spermatogenesis. Sperm form in
seminiferous tubules, of which there
are about 1000 in each testis.
• Seminiferous tubules also contain
interstitial cells, which produce the
male hormone testosterone.
• The testes hang outside the abdominal
cavity in a sac called the scrotum so
that the sperm do not overheat. The
temperature in the abdominal cavity is
too high for sperm to develop
properly: sperm develop most
efficiently at 34°C.
Transferring sperm
• A system of tubes carry
the sperm from the
testes to the penis. The
sperm pass from the
seminiferous tubules
through the epididymis
and vas deferens (which
also act as sperm stores),
into the urethra.
• The urethra acts as the
exit route for both sperm
and urine.
Prostate gland
• The prostate gland
secretes a milky white
fluid that neutralises
the acidity of any
traces of urine and
helps protect sperm
from acidic secretions
in the female body.
• This fluid also helps
with sperm mobility.
Seminal vesicles/Cowper’s gland
• The seminal vesicles (which
combine with the vas
deferens via a duct before it
joins the urethra (forming the
ejaculatory duct)) secrete a
thick, clear fluid (mucus) that
nourishes the sperm, and
Cowper’s glands secrete a
lubricant.
• The sperm, along with the
secretions added by the
accessory organs, make up
the semen (seminal fluid)
that is released during an
orgasm.
Female reproductive system
• A woman’s ovaries are
Ovaries structures about 2.5cm long
containing small sac-like
structures called follicles. The
follicles develop in the
germinal epithelium.
• The wall of each follicle
surrounds and nourishes an
oocyte which undergoes
meiotic division to form an
egg cell (a process called
oogenesis).
• A woman is born with about
200,000 to 400,000 follicles,
but only 200 to 400 complete
their development: the rest
degenerate.
Ovulation
• Starting at puberty,
a woman usually
sheds one (but
sometimes more)
egg cells from her
ovaries every 28
days or so.
• The shedding of an
egg cell is called
ovulation, and is
controlled by the
interaction of a
number of different
hormones.
The role of the fallopian tubes
• When an egg cell leaves the
ovary, it passes across a small
space and is caught up in the
infundibulum (the end of the
oviduct/Fallopian tube)
which leads to the uterus.
• Cilia sweep the egg cell
towards the uterus. If
fertilisation occurs, it usually
takes place high up in the
oviduct.
• A fertilised egg cell (zygote)
develops into a multicellular
embryo, which passes to the
uterus.
The fate of the ovum
• The embryo embeds itself
in the endometrium (a
mucus membrane that
lines the muscular walls
of the uterus), which is
richly supplied with blood
vessels.
• If the egg is not fertilised
it will degenerate and
leave the body during
menstruation, along with
the endometrium.
